Winston-Salem police make arrests in 2 deaths

WINSTON-SALEM — Winston-Salem police have arrested two men on murder charges in two unrelated killings last year.

The Winston-Salem Journal reported that 19-year-old Deshawn Dewitt Mason of Winston-Salem was charged Monday with first-degree murder in the death of 42-year-old Robert Franklin Moates II of Julian.

Moates was shot in April 2007 during the robbery of a strip club.

Three other men are charged with first-degree murder. Mason is to appear in court Nov. 7.

Nineteen-year-old Francisco Javoir Ramos of Winston-Salem was charged Monday with first-degree murder. Fifteen-year-old Chelsey Lauren Powers was found in the yard of her home in Winston-Salem in May 2007.

Ramos had been charged with being an accessory after the fact of murder in the case. He is also to appear in court Nov. 7.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)